First-year students listen to speeches at Vermont Law School in South Royalton in 2011. / FREE PRESS FILE

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Free Press Staff

The University of Vermont is seen this summer. / FREE PRESS FILE

The University of Vermont and the Vermont Law School are considering offering a joint degree program that would allow students to get a bachelor’s degree and a law degree in five years.

The “Vermont 3-2” program, as it would be called, would be one of the first such programs in the United States, according to a statement issued Friday by UVM. Enrollees would receive a bachelor’s degree in three years at UVM and a law degree in two years at Vermont Law. One rationale, according to UVM, is “to reduce the cost of higher education.”

The degree program would have to be approved by faculties of both schools.

The two institutions, which according to UVM President Tom Sullivan “share a commitment to environmentalism, sustainability and innovation,” have collaborated on other programs and sponsored conferences jointly. Among those programs is one that provides clinical psychological and legal services to torture victims.

“We think a strengthened relationship can bring many benefits to our students, our faculties, and to the people of Vermont,” Sullivan said in the statement.

“The 3-2 program would reduce significantly both the time and the cost of receiving a post-graduate degree,” said Marc Mihaly, president and dean of Vermont Law School.

“I applaud UVM and Vermont Law School for this innovative and practical idea to make higher education more affordable for Vermonters,” Welch said in a statement. “Keeping the doors to college open for all students will require this brand of leadership and innovation from higher education administrators nationwide.”